San Salvador, El Salvador January 27, 2007
Global Workers traveled to El Salvador to lay the groundwork to launch programs in this country. One of the most fascinating parts of the program development is understanding the differences between the countries and how this affects the structure of the project in that country. El Salvador is a small, densely populated country. Out of the almost 7 million residents, it is estimated that 2.5 million live in the United States. Unlike Guatemala which necessitates a decentralized project due to the nature of the organizations and the size of the country, El Salvador lends itself to a more centralized project.
Global Workers has the enormous privilege to be teaming up with the Human Rights Institute at the University of Central America (known by the Spanish acronym IDHUCA), the leading human rights program in El Salvador. Founded twenty years ago at the Jesuit university, IDHUCA has been on the forefront of all human rights issues. In response to the change of USA immigration law in 1996 which resulted in the first large deportations, IDHUCA founded a migrant department to address these new challenges. For the most part they work with rights issues for migrants transiting to the US or who are working in El Salvador. Increasingly, migrants who have returned from the USA (either deported—already more than 1,000 in January 2007 alone, a 40% increase from 2006, or who have returned of their own accord) turn to IDHUCA for legal assistance regarding rights in the USA. Global Workers appearance in El Salvador could not have been more timely.
Initial contact with a prominent Salvadoran business leader seemed promising to secure financial support for the initiative. The meeting, however, had mixed results. Due to the newness of the portable justice concept, it continues to be challenging to illustrate how it directly impacts the economy and people of the involved countries. Salvadoran migrants returning injured or under paid from working in the USA could push a family from poverty to extreme poverty. Ensuring portable justice—the right and the ability to transnationally access justice—will help prevent that. Hopefully, together IDHUCA and Global Workers can make that connection tangible and launch the project.
While in El Salvador, Global Workers met with US embassy staff. Just as in Guatemala, the US embassy does not orient US employers about their obligations under Salvadoran law or provide the H2 workers (approximately 500 annually) any information about labor protections. Building upon this initial contact, Global Workers hopes to work with the embassy to take affirmative steps to reduce H2 program exploitation of Salvadoran nationals.